Ragnarok:  Illumina
by Kuroi Sora
Summary: Chronicles the life of an assassin through his adventures and life. My first fic so criticism is highly recommended, Rated M for later chapters
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to Hell

**((Disclaimer: You know how it goes, I do not own any rights to Ragnarok, it's just a fan-made story, etc.)) **

**Illumina Ch.1 **

Watching the people pass by while he lay in the alleys of a town, a small boy glared at these strangers who all had life easy. This boy had been abandoned at a young age during his youth as his parents had left him on the streets. The gods had turned their backs on this adolescent who only wished for a family in the absence of his true kin. People gave him strange looks as if though he was disease-ridden and disgusting, which in-turn only served to fuel the boy's rage. This was how every day had been until that one fateful day that turned the world on it's end for this pre-pubescent child. A stranger had come upon him, cloaked and masking everything from his nose down. Offering a hand to this desperate teen, a new star had sparked in the sky that very night.

Intro end

* * *

A lone child opened his eyes, coming back into the world from his daydream as he watched the rolling hills right outside the city gates of Prontera. This hustle and bustle city was always packed with people such as merchants and knights, selling their wares and weapons to the masses. Tales of adventures past were told throughout the pubs of far away lands to fuel the imagination and spirit of young vagabonds. Other guilds made themselves known to the world here as well. Young priests and mages alike, wandering the streets and practicing or memorizing spells which had been taught to them during their classes in Geffen. Thieves also walked through the alleys of this grand city, trying to fill their pockets with Zenny and rare items as well. The boy stared out beyond the horizon while his hand reached out into the seemingly never-ending landscape. Jet-black hair and a slender physique made him a decent contender at competitions and such, although his flexibility and speed were what really made him a combatant. With all his defining attributes, the only things most people notice are his dark-green eyes. Those eyes were as soft as the summer breeze, yet fierce as a tidal wave. His killing intent was almost inhuman, although his calm and rational disposition made him a worthy adversary for almost any Knight or Paladin who came through the town just looking for a good fight.

Getting up and walking towards the entrance to the town, he caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a traveling caravan of Bards and Dancers. Although the boy was quite the musician himself, he'd preferred to fly solo for the time being and just live his life the way he wanted to, not having to rely on anyone else for anything. Accompanying the group into the city, he paid them to play a small ditty, which they had composed to sooth his mind and body. Their tunes carried softly upon the wind and echoed throughout the now empty cityscape, the only light to guide them were the street lamps and the small bonfire they had lit to keep themselves warm through the slightly-nippy spring weather. Today's events had yielded the same boring results as yesterdays. The boy practiced and practiced for a good portion of the day, then went out to kill a few beasts and collect a reward for whatever he had gotten. Trolls, slimes, goblins, they were all fodder for his growing bank account and he just needed a little more to get out of this rat hole of a town and find some real adventure. The dark-haired youth listened in a serene state while the caravan finished their song with a light chord. The troupe packed their instruments and thanked the boy for his donation before they headed off their own way.

"Loki!" A voice called from the distance, "chotto kite!" The voice belonged to the man who had raised the boy from his younger childish days to be a fighter, quick and strong. Their bond had only gotten stronger as the years progressed, allowing them to come as close as father and son. This man was the only person Loki had ever given a care for in the world, as his mentor and father figure. Teeming with energy, as it was time for dinner, the boy ran home as fast as he could to a warm meal, seeing as he only got fed once a day.

Flashback end

* * *

Opening his eyes from his deep slumber, a dark-haired teen sat in the back of a carriage being pulled by two Peco-Peco, bird like creatures used as beasts of burden and quick rides for Knights. Eyes looking from side to side, he put his mind at ease, seeing his closest comrades around him. Apparently he had taken a little nap while they were being taken to their next mission site, a town that had become ominously dark as of late. Pulling his facemask just above his nose, the teen stifled a yawn before speaking to his allies.

"Luna, are we there yet? These useless birds can only take us so far." He said with a low growl, preferring to stay on his feet or using stealth instead of this clunky, beat-down wagon. Their next mission was vital to keeping the balance of the world intact, to avoid a calamity far worse than the end of the world. They were assassins, each bearing the same mark on their cloaks besides the young teen, who adorned a much more intricate mark upon his own cloak. "I fear that the night will not cover our movements, these are not the normal creatures of Midgard we face here." All of Loki's comrades had covered their faces with facemasks, which covered everything from their nose down to conceal their identities. Each one of their heads turned to watch the dark sky looming overhead, as if warning them to stay away.

"Relax my dear Loki, you know how these procedures go, 'tis only a matter of time before we reach our destination." Said a female voice from beside him. "An Assassin of the Cross should practice a little patience." Luna continued with a very happy tone. Although Loki was the youngest, and most accomplished member of

"Just the way I like it." Said a smaller voice from the edge of the cart. It belonged to their newest addition. This teen had shown some backbone and ingenuity in the training courses, it was his first mission and the prodigy was about to show his skills on the battlefield. "This is our stop I presume?" He asked with great eagerness as the birds stopped and they dismounted from the cart. Walking up a hill towards the edge of the town, everything around them seemed dead or dying. A great calamity had gripped this once green and serene edge of Midgard. Tales of it's king doing unspeakable things had traveled all the way back to the guild hideout.

Watching over the death and decay, which ravaged through a particular town, an individual walked through the decrepit streets with a sadistic grin on his face. Upon entering the once lively and bright town which existed on the edge of the world, this being had done all it could to turn it into a literal living hell. The dead roamed the streets and the ominous clouds, which loomed overhead, blocked the sun. Death had found it's way back from it's eternal slumber, and was ready to feast upon the souls of the living once more.

Standing upon a hill, which overlooked the town, the band of five cloaked visitors stood and observed the now ghastly sight, which stood before them. An entire town reduced to nothing but rubble, and an ominous looking castle looming over the horizon. Looking from one to another, the five intruders looked over apparently taunting as hundreds of pairs of eyes gazed at them through the haunting shadows of the decay. As if paralyzed, the two separate sides watched each other with equal ferocity, until finally, hundreds upon hundreds of demonic beings lunged from the shadows with inhuman speed.

Walking in front of his comrades, one of the strangers threw off his cloak and revealed a pair of katars, which shot from his waist out to his sides. Catching them with expert precision, the being moved a speed in which made him almost invisible to the human eye, the entity re-appearing in the center of their midst and putting away his weapons as he pulled his hood back on. The other four stood with what could be guessed as smirks as they watched their over-acting ally.

The demons, all converging upon that one entity, could do nothing but stand still as they all fell at once, the sky tainted with blood as cuts and gashes appeared all over the devil-like abominations. Falling to the ground in droves, all of the devils dropped to the ground in pools of a dark-green substance, which was apparently blood. Waiting impatiently as the other four came to it, the silent killer tapped his foot as they approached. "That was too easy." said the being with a light voice as the rest approached.

"You take too much time Eclipse." said the biggest of the group with a deep tone. "That was too inefficient and too time-consuming." The giant continued with an annoyed voice. "If that were me they would have been dead long ago."

"Oh shush Hebi, let the boy have his fun, after all this is his first mission." piped out Luna in a playful tone. "And possibly his last." she added with an expressive wink.

"Be quiet you two, I sense that there are more around here than the Lesser Demons." spoke the semi-tall figure in the center of the group. "Rai, take the outer perimeter while Luna and I stake through the center of this diseased town. Eclipse, you and Rai take to the rooftops and scout from there." said the apparent leader while the rest bowed down in submission.

They were assassins of the highest caliber, whose job was known to them and them only. The silent killers of Midgard, they worked in complete secrecy without as hint to their existance. The Assassin's Guild had come to play. Many others didn't know the guild, as they always operated in the shadows and kept the balance through the cover of night. Loki and his teammates had always been together and in sync ever since they first became assassins. The teen had shown some promise by wielding the power of the cosmos, and almost immediately ranking up to an Assassin Cross, one of the most powerful beings in Midgard. His team consisted of Rai, Luna, Hebi, Eclipse, and Loki himself. The rest were self-accomplished like Loki and Eclipse, the best of the best within the Assassin's guild. They had evened out the balance of the world ever since their team was created. Now they were called on for another apparent routine mission, where they would stall the summoning of the demon Pandora from the depths of Hades. This was how it had always been, stop some deranged higher-up from summoning a power, which could in theory destroy the world. Many of these demons had gotten loose some of the time, but had always been destroyed within twenty-four hours of it's summoning before it's power had fully been recovered.

Pandora was no doubt a force to be reckoned with, but Loki and his team had always been prepared for anything. There were always dark life forms brought from the abyss when a demon was summoned, but the sheer number of demons that came out of the weakening seal unnerved Loki. Always absolute and efficient in his ways, the silent killer couldn't help but feel a little unease in this situation as he and Luna walked through the now desolate town streets, looking for anyone, or anything. The darkness in the sky made the landscape almost impossible to see, and the eerie setting within the town made the assassin flinch every time a noise was made. A loud crack broke the silence as a fight began overhead, lightning bolts and kunai shooting through the sky as Rai and Eclipse started a battle with a few winged entities. Not wasting any time waiting around for another battle, Loki and Luna raced down the paved streets towards the castle, rushing past any and all demons, which blocked their way. The darkness getting heavier as they reached the castle gates, the two prepared themselves for whatever they would encounter inside.

* * *

During the fight upon the rooftops, Rai and Eclipse found themselves under heavy assault from the demons, which reigned over the skies above the town. Loosing a few dozen kunai from his hand, Eclipse took down a few demons in a rain of blood as they all started dropping. While Eclipse was having his fun, Rai loosed a thunderbolt from his open palm and fried the nearest target to a crisp. Their efforts were in vain however, as hundreds of demons blackened the already dark sky.

"Kid, we've bitten off more than we can chew, haven't we?" Rai said with a sneer. He had always enjoyed fighting against the odds, although this time he knew he was beaten. It was a good feeling to him, knowing that he'd go down fighting for Midgard and his friends, every second he could buy them was just one more second of glory and recognition he'd get in the end.

"Not if I can help it." shouted Eclipse as he curled up his hands into a fist and jumped up on the nearest winged beast and rode it towards the horde of demons. Smiling as he shot straight through the barrage, the assassin prodigy released his katars once more and started slicing anything and everything his blades could touch. Laughing sadistically as blood dotted his cloak and armor, he continued hacking and slashing every last demon within reach. Dozens of demons fell as Eclipse let loose his fury and wrath into the flock, many of the remainder fell back and retreated for fear of the assassin. Back on the ground, Rai shot bolts of lightning every which way to catch any demon, which flew near him. Watching as demons fell charred and burnt while Eclipse slaughtered the rest from their counter attack. Pulling out his pata and sliding it over his fist, the elementalist siphoned his energy through his blade and jumped from rooftop to rooftop slicing down anything in his way with a loud hiss every time his blade hit flesh as it seared his enemies or killed them completely. "Eat your hearts out." The assassin tore through flesh, bone, and organs as his blades became smeared and covered with blood while he decimated the entire horde of demons. Raining blood as if it were raining down towards the ground, the sky was painted with rivers of blood and bits of demons as Eclipse went on his rampage.

Watching as the rest of the bird-like demons vanished or fell to the ground with a sickening thud, the two assassins smirked as though telling the other 'good job'. Their moment was short-lived however, as a gigantic demon resembling a dragon emerged from the thick clouds. "Oh...shit." grumbled Rai under his breath while he watched the dragon spread out it's wings and roar. Looking up as Eclipse raced towards the dragon on his mounted demon, the other assassin turned his gaze downward as lightning cackled around his fingers. Prepping themselves for the final battle, the two raced towards their target for a double-headed attack from the ground and the air.

* * *

Around the perimeter of the town, Hebi had a few problems of his own. Many demons seemed to sprout up from the ground around him, drooling and growling as if trying to taste him. The lone assassin had no qualms about this, as he was sure he could handle a few demons regardless of their rank on the hierarchy. The bulky assassin smirked at them and clenched his fists, "Bring it on."

((It seems a little half-assed so I'll just finish it up in the next few chapters))


	2. Chapter 2: Out of Time

Illumina Ch.2 

Racing through deserted corridors and empty rooms, Loki and Luna desperately tried to find their way to the dungeons where the assumed king and his followers were attempting to open a portal to hell and bring forth the demon Pandora. Thinking fast on his feet, the Assassin Cross commanded Luna to fall back and get backup from the outside. This mission was starting to seem a little less ordinary than Loki had actually thought at first. These demons weren't normal; they had taken control of the people who lived in the village and morphed them into something horrendous. Only high-level demons could have such power as to possess and morph other living beings. The teen thought that it would be just an average every day monster slaying, what it had become was something far more insidious. Time was running out and they had to find that portal now or they would suffer a fate worse than death at the hands of one of the most powerful demons. Thinking on his feet as he rounded a flight of stairs on the way down, he contemplated how he would deal with the demon once he'd arrived at the bottom-most floor. Minute by minute the building seemed to grow darker and a lot more dangerous in the eyes of Loki.

"This is one hell of a castle." said the assassin to himself as the more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed that the proportions of the castle to it's interior were completely unnatural. Feeling a slight draft as he descended into the very depths of the castle, the teen couldn't help but gasp at the sight he beheld as he reached the dungeon. The entire dungeon had been reformed into an entire underground city of the undead, complete with a ziggurat in the center where the ritual was taking place. Rushing towards the city gates as fast as he could, the silent being easily made quick work of any demon that was caught in his path. Slitting the throat of the last beast to get in his way, Loki wiped the blood off of his blade as he crept around the edges of the perimeter, making sure nothing had seen him. Listening through the walls to see if anyone was behind them, the stealthy entity ran up the wall and jumped over the top edge. Using the claws in his gauntlets to grip onto the wall, he gently slid down it before disappearing into the shadows once more. Waiting silently behind the wall of a nearby structure, he grabbed a demon that was walking by and slit it's throat as he had been doing since he got to the dungeon.

Watching the blood drip onto the floor as the demon coughed up a river of it, He averted his attention to the center of the strange underground city and watched in horror as dozens of humans were thrown into a giant pit in the floor. One after another, screams of terror were heard before they were silenced for eternity. Loki closed his eyes and watched in horror as the whole in the ground was filled with human bodies. As much as the teen wanted to assist, he couldn't give up his position before his team arrived at the scene to help him. Putting a crucifix he carried around his neck to his lips, Loki prayed for the innocent souls who were sacrificed to the demon god Pandora. "This isn't right." He thought to himself before climbing up the side of the building with expert precision and timing to avoid catching the gaze of any demons. "I'll make you pay..."

* * *

Meanwhile, back on the outer area of the castle, Luna had rounded up Rai and Eclipse for backup within the castle after they had dispatched of the dragon using some gruesome methods. Although Hebi was having a little trouble with the demons outside, the female assassin knew that he could handle them by himself; after all, there was a reason he was called the snake. Rushing into the castle again with her two companions beside her, Luna rushed to Loki's aid within the mysterious dungeon of the castle. Rai and Eclipse close behind; no one said anything to avoid getting into a fight within the castle and alerting the demons to their presence, if they hadn't done so already. Gripping his fist around the handle of his pata, Rai looked a little uneasy as he too felt the unnerving sense of impending doom that Loki had felt when they first arrived at this morbid site. Watching the small squads back as they rounded a flight of stairs, He took a little extra precaution and set up a network of lightning orbs, which would alert him to any movement within a certain radius of the team. Finding the entrance to the dungeon the three all gasped in unison, "holy hell..."

Hebi on the other hand, was having the time of his life, fighting these demons twenty at a time. The bulky fighter had already dispatched of a few dozen, using their spinal columns and other bones and pieces as weapons against the others. Picking up the closest being to him, the giant snapped its neck in half and threw its head at the rest, using it's body as a club and beating the other smaller demons with it. "C'mon, fight like you mean it." Hebi snarled, obviously upset that they weren't living up to his expectations. They weren't much fun to fight since they didn't exactly give Hebi much of a challenge. Ready to end the battle and face the more powerful things within the castle, the unbeatable assassin focused his energy and split his shadow into hundreds of fragments, each attaching themselves to the shadows of the demons. Throwing his hands in the air, giant black mouths opened up and sucked in the demons, vanishing and reattaching themselves to Hebi's shadow once more. Looking at the wasteland around him, the demons seemed to have suddenly vanished off of the face of the earth after being absorbed by his shadow. "That was quite interesting, but now I'm bored." He spoke to himself as he quickly approached the castle to assist his allies.

* * *

Growling curses at the demons as they hauled him off towards the center of the underground complex, Loki cursed himself for not being more diligent about picking a hiding place. "This day just gets better and better." He said to himself with a slight tone of sarcasm. Looking up at the gigantic seal, which hovered in the air, the assassin quickly thought of ways he could get out of this situation without a bang. All those ideas slowly sank into the void of his mind as he saw the king, standing up from his chair and approaching him with a slight look of disgust upon his face. "Wow your even uglier up close." The teen said with a grin, "I'm sure glad I don't look like that." He laughed at the king while trying to stall for time.

"You may say that young assassin, but you'll see what happens to those who meddle in matter which do not concern them." The king spoke in a gentle manner, he had been down here forever looking for the final sacrifice to Pandora, and here it was. "Pandora reigns supreme over all of the demons in the underworld you brat, and he shall soon rule over this world as well." The king smiled with a sadistic cackle as the demons dragged Loki away to a sacrificial pit. "You should be honored, to become a part of Pandora's offerings, it is truly a gift."

"Gift my ass." said Loki with a yell, "Watch me, I'll defeat your stupid demon." Cosmic energy flowing through his body and focusing into balls in his fists, Loki thrust his fists into each of the demons holding him. Watching them scream and howl in pain as they disintegrate, the assassin smiled as the other demons backed away, fearing for their own well-being. "There is no way you can defeat me old man, face it." Truth be told, the teen was only stalling for time until his allies arrived and they could battle to their full potential as a team, although if not then Loki could handle it on his own. Punching into the chest of the closest demon, he used his power to disintegrate it and reform it into his own likeness. The two beings spoke as one as they smirked at the king, "Your toast mister, whether you like it or not." They both ran towards the king with energy balls glowing around their fists.

"Wretched human, you shall feel the wrath of Pandora." The king laughed maniacally as he shot fires from his fingertips at the two incoming targets, "This is the end for you, insolent mortal." He growled in a low tone as he shot off multiple fireballs all over the place, frying his own demons as he tried to get a direct hit at the dual assassins. "Pandora will rise again you fools." The fires paused in mid-air as the king closed his fists and aimed his fingers at the clones. "Die!" He yelled as the fireballs all flew towards the clones at full speed from all directions. He could only watch in disgust as the refigured demon melted under the intense heat and the true Loki emerged from the flames completely unharmed. The king continued his assault, shooting flames every which way to try and hit the agile assassin.

* * *

Loki's team rushed through the gates to help their friend, but found that he needed no help whatsoever as he dodged to and fro' like an acrobat. Rushing to the top of a nearby structure to watch their ally further irritate the king, they smirked at each other before nodding in agreement. They had decided to eliminate all the demons within the city so that they'd have no further distractions while trying to shut the portal down. This would take a lot more than they had thought since there were more than their own fair share of demons in there.

"Alright let's split up." said Luna with a commanding voice, "Let's kill these bastards so we can go home in one piece." Rushing down the side of the structure, she zoomed down the street tossing needles at any and all demons in her path. Making a kind of zigzag pathway through the streets, demons fell by the dozens as she unleashed her fury upon the dark entities. As she finished her route across the city, she punched through the last demon and released her energy, blowing the demon into chunks of flesh, which painted the streets. "That was fun." she thought to herself as she looked at the bits of flesh, bone, and organ which splattered across the ground. It was strange to find this kind of sadistic alter ego to someone who was usually so refined and conserved such as Luna. Smelling a familiar burnt scent, the female assassin groaned as her ally rounded the corner across from her. "Great, you always have to burn something don't you?"

Rai couldn't help but sneer at her as he wiped the ashes of the last demon he had fried off of his hands, "He was asking for it, all ugly looking and such, kinda reminds me of someone I know cough Luna cough" He smirked as the girl fumed at him and ducked to dodge the punch she had just thrown. "I was only being truthful." the assassin laughed at the girl whose face just turned a bright red.

"Why YOU!" Luna growled as she kicked him in the balls and turned around. "Let's just go meet up with Loki." The assassin smirked as she walked away from the now crippled Rai, who lay on the ground clutching himself. Ignoring his curses at her as she walked merrily towards the structure they had all climbed when they got there, she narrowed her eyes and quickened her pace as the air around them suddenly became dense.

* * *

"I told you, you won't beat me." The teen laughed as he stood triumphantly in front of the portal. "Your god is nothing but a fake." He smirked as they continued their little game of cat and mouse. Loki would continue to dodge left and right, remaining completely unharmed after waves of fireballs and streams of fire. The teen found joy in the fact that the king grew even more angered and the time before the portal closed completely started to countdown into the last few minutes. The king's soul had been bound to the portal he had been trying to open, so in theory, if time ran out then his soul would be forcefully split from his body and sucked through the portal into the abyss. That was the kind of loophole, which tended to get a lot of people stuck when trying to release a demon. Although this was different, Pandora was a demon god and his portal would most likely work in a different way.

"Fine, if I can't kill you, then I hope you burn in hell." The king grinned, finally out of options. "Pandora will feast on your soul insolent wretch." He growled as he ran towards the sacrificial pit. "You will die here boy." He smirked as he flung himself into the pit, landing with a sickening thud at the bottom. The ground shook and the lighting seemed to dim as a growl erupted from the portal. A massive giant hand reached out of the portal and grabbed onto the edge of the portal, shattering the seal, which bound it shut. Pulling a titanic body out through the giant portal, the demon known as Pandora emerged, towering over the entire city. The demon looked at the city, which lay beneath him, resting his eyes on the miniature Loki who stood at his feet.

"You shall be the first to feel my wrath, child." said the demon god with a growl. Expelling a gigantic stream of fire from his mouth, Pandora engulfed Loki in an enormous blaze, which incinerated everything it touched regardless of what it was made out of. Growling triumphantly as he fully emerged from the portal, the god seemed to be invincible.

"Loki!!" screamed Luna from her post upon the top of a building within the complex. She had just gotten to the center of the city, but got there too late to assist her friend and comrade in the fight. Expecting him to have been vaporized in the fires, a small tear escaped her eye and fell towards the ground. The portal was open and Loki was dead, the end of the world was soon to come. The team had already run out of time.


	3. Chapter 3: Comeback

Illumina Ch.3

Watching in horror as the demon incinerated the leader, the team could do nothing to help him as the intense flames burnt Loki to a crisp. They couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow for their leader who valiantly gave his life to try and seal the demon. Feeling enraged at their loss, the team got ready for a counter attack to try and push Pandora back through the portal and back from whence he came.


End file.
